U.S. food safety law has Canadian officials ‘waiting and watching’

Canadian food exporters are tracking how the United States Food and Drug Administration implements new food safety provisions signed into law last week by President Barack Obama.

They’re also watching to see what the federal government will do to ease the burden the law will impose on Canadian companies as its provisions are implemented during the next few years, says Chris Kyte, president of Food Processors of Canada. The U.S. takes in more than half of Canada’s food exports.

Many of the law’s provisions have parallels in Canada although mandatory traceability of food products and food company safety plans aren’t yet required as they will be under the U.S. law.

“Our food safety system works,” Kyte told iPolitics in an interview. “Now we will have to conform to their rules.” The food industry is looking to the federal government to negotiate equivalency status for Canadian foods with FDA.

Kyte says the law responds to U.S. food safety problems that have affected Canadians through contaminated exports of vegetables, sprouts and other raw products. To compound the challenge for Canadian companies, the U.S. seems intent on setting its own standards rather than following international ones established by the Codex Alimentarius.

Derek Nighbor, senior vice president of Public and Regulatory Affairs with Food and Consumer Products of Canada, which represents large processors, said the bill looks good. “But the U.S. is playing catch up to us on food safety.”

The U.S. law highlights the need for Canada to update its food and policy laws, he continued. The Harper government brought in a food safety bill in 2006 but let it die without being debated. “New food safety legislation is the way to go to ensure our regulatory regime can keep up with what’s going on in the world.”

FCPC presented the federal government with proposals two years to streamline the federal food regulatory process so that new products could be introduced faster to respond to consumer demand and keep the food industry, Canada’s biggest employer, internationally competitive. Nigbor says the organization is still waiting for Canada to act.

Albert Chambers, executive director of the Canadian Supply Chain Food Safety Coalition, which represents food companies and farm groups, said in an interview Canada may have to pass legislation to bring Canadian requirements up to the level envisaged by the U.S. law.

The Canadian government needs to become far more active in making sure Canadian exporters are up to date on U.S. requirements, he added. “The industry needs to know what’s in this legislation and how we demonstrate we’re meeting their requirements.”

Mary Ann Green, senior advisory for food safety regulatory liaison at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, said in an interview that FDA will spend at least 18 months implementing the bill’s provisions through regulations. The Canadian government and food companies will be able to intervene when the FDA launches the regulatory process. Full details will be posted on the FDA website (www.fda.gov) as the agency goes through the process of posting proposed regulations for comment.

“We will be waiting and watching for the regulations,” she says. The U.S. will adhere to Codex standards, as Canada does, except when it can demonstrate scientifically that a higher one is required.

Canadian officials have regular discussions with their U.S. counterparts on food safety issues and they’re well aware of Canada’s concerns and the overall state of food safety in Canada. “They’re moving in the same direction as we are to prevent food safety problems rather than react to them,” she said.

The federal government has financed some analytical work by private consultants on the impact of the U.S. law but it has only distributed those documents to industry groups as part of background briefings. As well, it has secured a legal opinion from a prominent Washington law firm on the influence of the new law, which confirms the food industry’s overall fears.

Beyond that, the food industry hasn’t seen much evidence of federal action on the file, officials say. Green did brief Agriculture Canada’s food safety advisory committee on the U.S. law back in November and will update the committee later this month.

Much like the CFIA already does, the law will give FDA authority to proactively protect the food supply, rather than simply react to food safety incidents. About the only commodities it won’t control are meat, chicken and eggs, which are inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Of most interest to Canadian firms are provisions that allow FDA to inspect processing plants, order recalls and set stricter standards for imported foods. Larger farms and food manufacturers will have to prepare detailed food-safety plans and tell the FDA how they will be implemented at different stages of production.
The law requires FDA to gradually implement more frequent inspections domestically and overseas. Eventually, high-risk facilities will be inspected every three years. It will also be able to set national standards for growing and harvesting produce.

FDA will be required to establish a system to track the movement of food products from farm to consumer to identify the source of foodborne illness. Some imported foods will need to be certified by a third party with food safety expertise.

Republicans have promised to block some funding for the law but industry officials expect that will be just for provisions affecting small farmers and processors. They won’t reduce any controls on imports.